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From what I have been reading, the steel wool in the coffee is to act as a mordant which allows the color to stick to the leather. This perplexes me as I also read that the tannins in vegetable tanned leather is it's own mordant and their is no need for one. (With hides being tanned in so many places with so many different processes, I am skeptical of this last statement, but too unfamiliar with the process to make a definitive decision.) Morb - you said you were going to try a batch without the steel wool in it to see if there is a difference - have you had a chance to do that yet? From the hours of reading I am thinking it will just be a light staining but I would be interested in hearing your results. Karina

LOL...... I would have been on the edge of my seat waiting to see that one. Karina

Very Nice! Karina

Look good! Karina

Here is the Post where he talked about how he did it. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=54435&hl=embossing Karina

Awesome! Karina

Thanks! Nice of you for sharing! Karina

Very Nice! Karina

Have you tried http://buffaloleatherstore.com/ Karina

Check out Ebay, I picked up one for $12 including the shipping a few months back. Karina

That is Nice! I watched a Youtube video of a guy doing this once to a pair of Nike's. His design was very elaborate, and the finish product was amazing. I had all the tools already so I gave it a try. Epic fail! I drew the design on the shoe with a pencil, and I could not follow the lines to save my life. It was terrible and the more i tried to straighten out the lines the worse it got. After seeing this I might just have to give it another try. Katrina

This is actually not the Model number but the Serial Number. Based on the beginning two letters, I found that it was built in 1934, but unfortunately without the missing number It could be anyone one of several machines built during that time. Ask your friend for the entire serial number then go to the Singer website and it will tell you exactly what Model the machine is based on the serial number. Or if you have pictures of the entire machine, post a pic here and one of the guru's may be able to tell you what it is. Karina

I love them both. Very nice! Karina

Nice clean and tidy shop space. My shop is only that clean every few months or so. When I can't seem to find a thing is when I decide to take the time to put everything back in it's place, and from looking around me, it is way past that time. When it is clean it is very organized with everything within reach. Right now I can't find my favorite awl nor my 1/2" english end punch and I have been looking for two days. I found my handheld punch in the trash bin under my bench yesterday, I sure hope that's not where they went because the trash is long gone. Anywhoo.. Nice work space. Karina

Awesome advice! Karina

A free program is Pixresizer. Very easy to use, no learning curve whatsoever! Just open the program, upload the file you want to resize, and change to the size you want, or simply select one of the preset sizes. Takes a few seconds to do. Karina

Nicely done! I know what you mean about the sewing with one hand inside, the other outside. I am working on a bag myself and yesterday the needle bit the crap out of my index finger on my right hand, and I gave up for the day after that? :) Couldn't imagine doing that more than once and continue sewing after that! Again Very nice bag! Karina

I made it out of some 5oz scraps I had lying around. Karina

I too made myself one, and my inspiration also came from Fieldnotesbrand.com. Here is my version I also made the wooden storage box they have on the site to store your used notebooks. Karina

Beautiful! Karina

2nd the Angelus dyes. Try Turtlefeathers.net Karina

No I don't think you are going in the right direction. By reading through the description the seller listed for this item on Etsy, he gives you an idea of how he made it. It is vegetable tanned leather that he block dyed. I personally achieve this look with an airbrush, but there are other techniques one can use to achieve this look as well. Use the search feature at the top of the page and you will find posts on how some have achieved this look. Karina

http://www.texascustomdies.com/ Karina

That is a great tutorial and it has been posted on here before. Definitely worth the watch though for those who haven't seen it yet. Karina

Very Nice Work! Karina